Senator Patricia Bates Responds to Governor Brown's State of the State Address

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) today issued the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s 2016 State of the State address:

"The governor’s emphasis on paying for the commitments our state has already made is absolutely right on target. With California’s taxpayers already bearing the sixth highest state-local tax burden in the nation, there is no excuse for the state to live beyond its means.

“Unfortunately the focus on fiscal restraint is severely undermined by the continued pursuit of high-speed rail. The insistence on building the project, despite rising costs, overshadows the work we need to repair the state’s decaying infrastructure. To raise taxes and fees on drivers while spending more on the train makes no sense.

“On water, the governor is right that there is no magic bullet in solving the drought, but we must do more to ensure that the water we do have goes to people. Our economy and quality-of-life depends on reliable water supplies and we must do more to encourage additional sources, such as storage and desalination.”